


I'm With You, Always

by getthatbread



Series: Ellie X Female!Reader/OC [1]
Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Oblivious Ellie (The Last of Us), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:01:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29916585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/getthatbread/pseuds/getthatbread
Summary: Rory Anderson, a member of the WLF and sister to Abby Anderson, is brutally separated from the group of Wolves traveling whilst they're on the hunt for Joel Miller.  Rory, just like Ellie, is immune to the CBI virus, which is a big secret she must keep when she finds herself faced with a whole county full of people on the WLF hit list.  Rory might find trust at Jackson County, or she might find herself in for a long ride.
Relationships: Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us)
Series: Ellie X Female!Reader/OC [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199930
Kudos: 1





	I'm With You, Always

**Author's Note:**

> *I will put chapter warnings at the beginning of every chapter so you are away of possible triggers*  
> This is an Ellie x Original Female Character book, so it will not be an x reader, but you are free to imagine yourself as Rory if you'd like.  
> Also, just a heads up, I might change around very small parts of the plot so that my character is able to fit in, but this book mainly follows the plot of The Last Of Us 2 video game.

The cold bites at my face, my hands, everything. In front of me is a world of swirling white broken apart only by dark trees, as is every other direction. I shield my eyes but it does no good- I'm lost, alone, hungry, cold, and very much angry with the world around me at the moment.

"Abby! Abby where are you?" I call out as if my older sister wouldn't have heard the last fifteen times I've called her name. "Owen?" Another attempt at finding my friends again. The adrenaline from being chased by a pack of infected is starting to wear off and I'm realizing that I dearly miss my jacket that got ripped off of my shoulders back in the underground tunnel.

 _They're looking for me, right? Abby is probably freaking out right now._ That is if Abby and the others are okay.

For how bad the wind is, it's strangely quiet in these woods, and I'm not sure how much longer I can last in pure silence by myself without any materials. Unfortunately, my jacket wasn't the only thing lost back in the tunnel. I mentally curse myself for being so stupid; I could've fought at least enough infected to get my supplies back, but I guess I didn't know I would be on my own after escaping.

I'm almost too focused on my violent shivering to notice warm, orange lights in the distance. When I squint my eyes, I can make out small cottages and a wall set up around this small section of humanity in the middle of nowhere.

I don't take the time to consider that Abby and the others might have gone a different way and this could be a totally different group of people; all I take note of is the lights, which equals electricity, which equals warmth. I stumble forward, out of a line of trees and onto an obviously consistently-walked road. I start to head in the direction of which I saw the small town, rubbing my hands together.

 _Maybe Abby will find me and feel bad so she'll apologize. Surely she didn't mean what she said,_ I think.

_**~~FLASHBACK~~** _

"There was no real point in coming here in the first place. We shouldn't have come and now we're lost," I say, crossing my arms in front of my chest and rocking back on my heels. Abby wants revenge, but that's no big surprise. What has shocked me is how blind she is to the situation; if she kills this man we're hunting, we're no better than what he did to our dad.

Abby cuts her eyes at me. "How could you say theirs no point. I _know_ just how close you and dad were. How could you just let someone get away with that? Not only did he kill our father but he also killed the last chance humanity had out of this hellhole," Abby raises her voice at me. She bends back down over the map, trying to figure out where we are.

"Don't play dumb, Abby, you know that dad had another option." Even if it had to be said, I shouldn't have said it.

The truth is, the little girl that man had with him when he arrived at the hospital is just like me; immune to the CBI virus. The only difference is I'm my father's daughter and there's no way in hell he would sacrifice me to save a wave of people from getting infected, to save human life. The man wanted the same thing my dad did, so is that really such a big crime?

"Dad saw a way out so he kept your fucking secret. He did the right thing, Rory. Hell, Joel even gave up that little girl, and _we_ had to pay when he changed his mind." My older sister stands up straight, trying to show me that this conversation is over. I'm not having any of it.

"Well then maybe Dad made the wrong decision. He wouldn't want us to take this poor girl's father figure away from her." I run a hand over my face, exasperated. " _God_ , what are we doing out here, Abby? You're constantly driven by this deep rage and you can't even take the time to address it."

It seems I've struck a cord with her. She packs up the map and stuffs it into her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. "Yeah, maybe he did make the wrong decision, because you've been no fucking help. If you had died back in that hospital back there, this would have never happened." She looks me directly in the eyes when she says it, making it hurt even more. She leaves, letting the door slam shut on her way out.

**_~~PRESENT~~_ **

That was an hour before we entered a highway tunnel and got bombarded by a mob of infected. I had gotten separated from the group, managing to get my backpack and jacket ripped off of me, leaving me with absolutely no supplies.

I am going to die in this cold. 

_No. Abby never meant it, she was just angry. As usual._

I don't know how much time has passed before it becomes harder and harder to open my eyes after blinking. I can't feel my feet, my hands, or my nose at all. Distantly, I recognize these as early symptom stages of hypothermia and frost bite.

The only thing keeping me from collapsing on the ground is the thought of seeing my sister again. That and a warm drink. My feet slosh through the snow and my vision fades in and out. When was the last time I ate? Drank water? I can't remember. I begin to count my footsteps, hoping it will keep me conscious at least a little bit longer. 1...2...3...4...5...6...

I close my eyes and they won't open, no matter how hard I try. I take a step but it feels like I'm falling, there's no floor below me and I will keep falling until I slip into the abyss. I feel myself hit the ground so I pull myself into the fetal position, no longer shivering or fighting against the waves of tiredness in my bones. I just let myself fall still. And then all of my surroundings are gone from my mind.

**_~~TIMESKIP~~_ **

"She's definitely awake, Tommy. Still breathing."

"What do you wanna do? Is she infected?"

I wait for the conversation between the two voices to become more coherent. Someone shakes my shoulder and I snap my eyes open, sitting up and scooting away in the snow. I feel slight nausea from the quick movement.

"Woah there," one man says. The other moves his hand to the gun holstered at his waist. The man with darker, shorter hair and a beard holds his hands up, showing me he's not openly holding a weapon. The one with the long hair seems to be on high alert. "Are you okay?"

I start to violently shiver. "I'm f-fine. I'm not infected," I assure them.

The man closest to me grabs a thick blanket from one of the horses standing a few feet away and holds it out to me. I gladly accept it and wrap the source of warmth around my shoulders. 

"What's your name, kiddo? What are you doing out here?"

"Joel, I don't think taking her with us is a good idea," says the long-haired one.

 _Joel? Joel Miller?_ Holy fucking shit I've found Joel Miller by accident. _What are the odds? I need to calm down._ I force myself to hide my reaction and answer his questions.

"Rory." I search my brain for a lie to come up with. "I got attacked by infected and lost all of my stuff."

Joel gives the man behind him, who must be Tommy, his brother, a look. I can tell they are having some sort of conversation with their eyes. Then Joel looks back at me, some sort of softness in his eyes. Softness? That can't be right. Joel is a killer. "You're coming with us, kiddo. We'll get you back to our county and you can be warm. What do you say?"

I nod.

Joel helps me stand up and then also assists me in getting on the horse. My hands sting and my toes start to feel like they're on fire. The horses start trotting at an even pace, Tommy leading the way.

"Where are we going?" Panic fills my voice. Only now did I think about the possibility that Joel remembers who I am and is taking me back only to have me killed. "What are we going to do there?"

"It's called Jackson county," Joel answers. We pass a break in the trees while coming down a hill where the small town is clearly visible. "Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you." I pull the blanket around me tighter, finding myself believing what Joel says. Joel is the type of person to kill me on the spot if he wanted me dead. Or maybe I remind him of the girl he was with. Is she still alive? Her name was Ellie, I think. She was the only other person I've known to be immune.

"You're lucky we found you. Few more hours and you would've been gone," Tommy speaks up. He still sounds skeptical, and he has a right to be. I wouldn't trust some random person I found lying unconscious in the snow either.

"Yeah," is all I have to say. I was ready to accept my fate in the snow. Maybe I deserve that fate, just like Abby said. If there's no use for my immunity anymore, what's the point of me still being alive?

**_~~TIMESKIP~~_ **

The horses take us down the steep hill and away from the forest. We come up to the giant wall and gate that protects Jackson County. The people standing outside all have their eyes on me, curious as to why a random teenage girl is on Joel's horse.

I'm drowsy again, but this time I'm a bit warmer. My hands are bright red and a purple-blue color on the ends of my fingers.


End file.
